CHAPTER 69: 069 PEER REVIEW

Xu Pinglin coughed, feeling a bit awkward criticizing one traditional Chinese medicine doctor in front of another. However, as doctors, they all knew the traditional Chinese medicine field was a mixed bag, with both genuine practitioners and frauds. It was wrong to judge the truly skilled by the actions of charlatans, as it unfairly damaged their reputation. Furthermore, authentic traditional Chinese medicine practitioners deeply resented those who exploited the profession for deceit.

"The treatment methods were nothing unexpected, just the usual traditional Chinese medicine methods: decoction medicine, acupuncture, and massages. I checked the receipts. The cheapest was the massage, at over 300 yuan each time. Next came acupuncture, over 500 yuan each time. The most expensive were the Medicine Ingredients, costing more than 2,000 yuan for just a week’s supply," Xu Pinglin said.

Du Heng frowned as he listened. Massages and acupuncture were skills that had no set price, so the practitioners could charge whatever they liked. Though expensive, it wasn’t something one could criticize. However, a weekly medication expense of over two thousand yuan was truly outrageous. To reach that price, either the quantity had to be enormous, or some precious Medicine Ingredients were used. Otherwise, with the current state of cultivation and management of Traditional Chinese medicinal materials, it would be impossible to spend that much. Even in private clinics, medication prices might be slightly higher, but they wouldn’t be too unreasonable, as specialized regulatory departments oversaw their use and sale. Of course, there were exceptions; after all, it was a matter that officials wouldn’t investigate unless someone reported it, and many patients didn’t know the actual price of a prescription. They simply paid whatever the clinic charged.

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Du Heng pondered for a moment before saying, "Let me see the patient first."

As Du Heng spoke, he looked at the girl pushing the wheelchair, and Xu Pinglin also looked in their direction.

The old man in the wheelchair couldn’t move, and his facial muscles appeared stiff, making it difficult for him to show any expression. Now, it was up to the girl to decide whether to have Du Heng examine the patient.

The girl looked hesitant and anxious as she glanced between the two men, her eyes filled with deep suspicion and distrust, especially when she looked at Du Heng.

She felt conflicted. On one hand, she desperately wanted her father’s condition to improve and relieve his suffering. On the other, she was terrified of being deceived again. They had spent tens of thousands of yuan seeking treatment at Class A hospitals, but saw no improvement. They had even sought out renowned old Chinese doctors who boasted divine-like skills, but again, the money was spent with no results. Now, looking at the young man before her, her only impression was his youth. The senior TCMs she found were ineffective, so this young TCM would likely be even less so. Money lost to scams could be earned back, and the sadness would only last a short while. But to give her father hope only for it to end in disappointment each time... Seeing her father’s ashen, lifeless eyes, that kind of blow was even more unbearable.

Xu Pinglin noticed the girl’s hesitation and said, "Bao Mi, Doctor Du is highly skilled, and he has already successfully treated more than thirty paralyzed patients. This might sound funny, but an illness I’ve had for over ten years, which multiple hospitals couldn’t cure, is now gradually improving, all thanks to Doctor Du’s treatment."

As he spoke, Xu Pinglin lowered his head and pointed to the roots of his hair. "You should remember, when we last met, my hair was all white. Now, look again—the roots have turned black."

Bao Mi looked at Xu Pinglin’s hair roots, her eyes flickering slightly, but she remained silent.

At this point, Wu Buwei and his colleague, who had come out of the practice room after hearing about the arrival of a patient, couldn’t hold back. Whether Bao Mi allowed Du Heng to treat her father was her decision, but they couldn’t stand her doubting attitude towards Du Heng.

To them, Du Heng was their idol, their motivation, and their role model for learning.

Wu Buwei walked to his desk, picked up the journal, and said to the lady, "Aside from other aspects, my senior brother’s paper on the treatment of paralysis and hemiplegia has already been published in the country’s core Journals."

Bao Mi glanced at the journal and faintly spoke her first words since entering, "I don’t understand."

Those three words left Wu Buwei gasping for breath. It felt like a huge hammer had struck his chest, making him feel suffocated.

Bao Mi didn’t understand, but Xu Pinglin did. Upon hearing the words "core Journals," Xu Pinglin was initially disbelieving, but then snatched the journal from Wu Buwei’s hand.

Seeing the name and serial number on the journal, his face was filled with utter shock.

He quickly found Du Heng’s article in the table of contents.

"Doctor Du, is this true?" Xu Pinglin asked.

Du Heng smiled. "Director Xu, you’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?"

"It’s incredible! You’ve written such a paper so quickly. It hasn’t even been a month yet, has it?"

"I was lucky. I just happened to catch their monthly publication deadline."

"Even so, your paper must have been solid to be accepted. In the paper, you said you treated 40 cases. Didn’t you say 37 cases last time?"

Xu Pinglin’s memory was quite good; he remembered the data from the last evaluation meeting clearly.

Du Heng explained, "The data our clinic collects is mainly based on patients who took their medicine and received treatment. However, during the entire inspection process, there were actually many more such patients, probably over fifty."

Wu Buwei suddenly interjected, "Fifty-seven."

Du Heng continued, "But, as with other diseases, many people were examined and I prescribed medication for them, yet they didn’t fill their prescriptions or come to the Health Clinic for treatment. The reason, as I mentioned in the last meeting, is that they don’t trust the doctors at the Health Clinic. Also, they don’t trust my skills because I’m too young."

Du Heng helplessly spread his hands. This situation might continue for quite some time, all because he was too young. In the traditional Chinese medicine industry, there are many standards to determine a doctor’s level of expertise. However, age, white hair, a beard, and wrinkles were often the primary factors people used for their initial judgment.

"So, many people never took the medicine and aren’t included in the statistics," Du Heng added. "But after seeing others achieve good results, three more came to me for treatment, and they’re all recovering well now. The most severe case, though their limbs are still weak, can now manage some slight movement on their own."

Xu Pinglin felt his breath quicken. There were doctors who could cure illnesses, and some who could even treat paralysis; the Chinese Medicine Department Director at Provincial First Hospital also had successful cases. However, there weren’t many doctors who could write papers about it and have them published in core Journals. Many difficult cases successfully treated by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners lacked reproducibility and often seemed highly coincidental. Writing them into papers was almost impossible. Even if written, they would only occupy a small corner in some ordinary journals. But Du Heng was different. The publication of this paper had transformed the treatment of this type of disease into a systematic and reproducible process.

Xu Pinglin realized he had underestimated Du Heng. He strongly believed that keeping such a talent in a primary-level hospital like the Health Clinic would be a huge waste. Various thoughts rushed through his mind, but he knew this wasn’t the right time or place to say more. So, he turned to Bao Mi and said very seriously, "Bao Mi, I think you should give it a try."